The Best Man
by kimpy
Summary: Jasper Whitlock has been in love with Bella Swan since the first time he saw her in the Forks High cafeteria. But Bella fell in love with his best friend, Edward. When tragedy strikes in Bella's life, can Jasper help her pick up the pieces and start over?


"**For the Love of Jasper" One-Shot Contest**

**Title: The Best Man**

**Pen name: Kimpy0464**

**Existing work: (Title of work from which the entry is an outtake or "N/A" if the entry is "all new") "N/A"**

**Primary Players: Jasper, Bella, Edward**

**Disclaimer: Everything Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I just take her characters and pour lemonade all over them. Then I lick it up….**

**A special thank you to Brain in the Gutter, who asked me to write a Jasper/Bella One Shot for her. How could I refuse??**

**Naughtysparkle, you are the bestest beta; you never fail to talk me down from my ledge. I lurve u so much it's silly!**

**To see other entries in the "For the Love of Jasper" contest, please visit the C2: www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/community/For_the_Love_of_Jasper_Contest/72564/**

It was always Bella.

I sit here, in front of my laptop, and I see her beautiful face smiling back at me from the screen. Seeing that smile once again, I feel the bitter sting of the knife that is permanently wedged in my heart. The years haven't lessened the pain, they've only changed its shape and form. When you have a hole in your heart, it never goes away. Not completely.

I'm shocked as hell to see her on Facebook; it's been years since she and Edward headed off to Africa to be Peace Corps volunteers. She's the last person who would have a Facebook page; her life has centered on Edward for so long she has completely lost touch with those people she knows in Forks.

As I'm looking through the photos she has posted, I note that her relationship status is listed as "single." _WTF??_

When Bella first moved to Forks to live with her father, Chief Swan, it was Edward who sat next to her in biology lab. I often wondered, in my more bitter moments, what it would have been like if I had been the one to sit across from her. Would she have fallen in love with me instead? Edward already had everything—perfect parents, money to burn, looks, charm, and brains. Why, then, did he have to get Bella, too? It was all so fucking unfair.

I'm the one who sat across from them in the cafeteria. I tagged along wherever we went. I dated a few girls here and there, trying to prove to myself that I only wanted Bella because Edward had her, but nothing ever clicked. I knew in my heart Bella was the only woman I would ever truly love. Because of that, I was destined to suffer from unrequited love for the rest of my life.

Naturally, we all went to the same college. Don't get me wrong—Edward was still always my best friend, and Bella was also a close friend. They are both incredible people. The only factor complicating our relationship was how smitten I was with Bella. I never told a soul, and Edward never suspected. I played the friend card well.

They decided to get married right out of college, so that they could be placed together in the Peace Corps. We all knew they'd get married eventually, but this just hastened their timeline. I stood by as their Best Man, feeling that stabbing pain in my heart with every fucking beat. Bella was a stunningly beautiful bride—innocent, yet sexy as hell, because she had no idea how alluring she was. They were both beaming with love and pride that day, and I just had to swallow my bile.

They left for Zaire a week after they were wed, and I hadn't seen either of them since. I've tried so many ways to try to forget about Bella Swan, but I just couldn't do it. The hole in my heart was too big to heal. I tried to drown it with scotch, but found that pouring liquid through a hole does nothing to close the wound, no matter how much you attempt to pour through it. Once I discovered that the hole was there for good, I gave up trying and just accepted the pain. Some days it was more painful than others, but it was omnipresent, and I got used to it.

So, to see Bella's status on Facebook was a complete shock. I wasn't even looking for her, she is the one who found me. Getting her friend request opened up old wounds like they had just occurred hours, not years, ago. I decided to send her a PM, just to find out more about what was going on between she and Edward.

Her answer left me stunned. Edward had died suddenly from a resistant strain of malaria; there was nothing that could be done to save him. How the hell had I not known? There was no funeral, no memorial service, no mention in the papers. In my reply to her, I asked why everything was so incognito regarding Edward's death. She said she didn't want to get into it online, but asked if I would meet her for coffee, so she could explain.

*****************

I sit in my overstuffed chair at my Starbucks, sipping a latte. I'm so nervous I'm bouncing my knee up and down and fidgeting like a kindergartener during mass. I had a napkin, but it has been torn to bits, forcing me to throw it away. I sit facing the front door, so I can scope her out before she sees me.

When she walks in, I recognize her familiar face at once. She's just as beautiful as ever, long brown hair falling in loose curls over her shoulders. Instead of the permagrin she wore around Edward, however, her visage is riddled with grief. It is etched deep into the layers of her skin, and she's wearing it like a mask. Someone that gorgeous should never have to wear a mask and hide all that beauty. I raise up my hand to signal her attention, and she looks straight at me. She gives me a warm smile, but it doesn't light up her entire face—it never reaches her eyes. That's when I know just how much grief she is handling.

She walks over to me, and leans in to kiss my cheek.

"Oh my God, Jasper, you look amazing! I can't believe it's you! You have no idea how delighted I was to find you on Facebook; I've missed you so much over the years."

I wasn't about to give her a guilt trip for abandoning me to run off to Africa with Edward. She followed her dreams, with her dream man, and no one should be faulted for trying to do what they love with whom they love.

"You are as stunningly beautiful as always, Bella. It's so good to see you again."

"Thanks, you have no idea how much I love hearing that come from your mouth. Let me grab my coffee so we can get to talking."

I watch her as she stands in the queue. From my vantage point, she cannot see that I'm watching her, so I fucking ogle away. She has on jeans and a v neck t-shirt, no make up, and flip flops. Probably standard gear for a Peace Corps volunteer. Her jeans are low waisted, and they cup her curvy ass, accentuating, rather than detracting from, her rear. You can see a peek of cleavage at the bottom of her v-neck—just enough to drive you crazy imagining what it looks like in its entirety. Her breasts are perfectly proportioned, not too big, not too small. I think about how they would feel, cupped in my hands, and feel myself harden at the thought.

_Fuck! I can't sit here for an hour with a hard as hell cock! But how could I possibly not get hard at the sight of her?_

Bella walks over to join me, and I try to put images of a naked Mrs. Cope in my head to stave off the boner. It works.

She plops herself down in the overstuffed chair next to me, heaving a big sigh.

"Wow, that's a pretty big sigh!"

"I don't want to bore you with the drama of my life, Jasper. Let's just say that I sigh frequently these days."

"So, you live in Forks now?"

"Yeah, I decided to live with my dad while I figure out what to do with my life."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Why does it sound like you're trying to be my therapist, Jasper?" She says, with a hearty laugh. That time, it does reach her eyes, and her face sparkles for a brief moment.

"I guess I can't help myself; the psychologist in me never goes to sleep, you know," I grin at her.

"God, I don't even know where to begin. This year has been so insane. I spent the last six months in denial, working in Africa, trying to forget Edward. It didn't work."

"Your love was so deep, Bella, it isn't something you can just recover from. I suspect you have a hole in your heart that makes you feel like you'll never be whole again. And no amount of time, or space, or distance, lessens the impact of that hole in your life."

She whispers her next line. "How the hell did you know?"

"I'm a psychologist, remember? Plus, I have a little personal experience with heartbreak."

"Did you lose someone tragically, too? I never heard that you were with anyone, but I lost track of everyone and everything while I was in Africa. It is so hard to keep up when you're working in the rural outskirts of the Third World. There is no technology or infrastructure to help keep in touch with people."

"I didn't lose anyone tragically, but I definitely lost someone with whom I was deeply in love. She never loved me, so it was unrequited, but that doesn't mean it that it hurt less than your losing Edward. We still have broken hearts that refuse to mend."

"Is it anyone I know, Jasper?" she asks, timidly. "Never mind, it's none of my business."

"Yes, it is someone you know intimately."

"Really? You've always seemed so content being solo. Who's going to turn down a hottie like you, anyhow? She must be really stupid to give you up, because I simply can't imagine your affections being unrequited. Who do you know intimately besides Edward and me?"

"I have met one or two people since I last saw you, Bella."

She blushes furiously. "Oh, of course. How stupid. It isn't like your life ceased to move forward the minute Edward and I went to Africa. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, really. We aren't here to talk about me, however. You were going to tell me about Edward, remember?"

"Oh. Right. Well, we were working in rural Zaire when Edward came down with Malaria. We both took prophylactics, of course, but Edward ended up with the strain that is lethal if not caught soon enough. It travels exceedingly fast and it resistant to all the present forms of anti-Malarials used in the field. Had he caught it in a First World country, he would have probably survived," I hear her voice crack and tears start to run down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Jasper. It still hurts so much, to have lost him in such a nonsensical way."

"Bella, you're grieving the loss of your soul mate; one doesn't recover from that overnight, if ever. Tears are to be expected."

"I know, it just makes me feel so weak to tear up so easily."

"Don't you think Edward would feel disappointed if he knew you didn't cry over his loss?"

"Actually, he wouldn't. One of the last things he told me was he expected me to find someone new to love, and that he would be watching to make sure I did so. He made me promise that I would."

"I guess that does sound a lot like Edward. It's easier said than done, though, to fall in love a second time. Especially when your first love was such a strong connection."

"I know, right?" she suddenly stops speaking.

"What's wrong, Bella?"

"That isn't all that Edward said…"

"Okay…"

"I didn't want to tell you," she hesitates. "I don't want you to feel obligated."

I sit in silence, looking at her, waiting for her to finish.

She sighs deeply. "He specifically told me I should find _you_."

"Me? Why me?"

"He didn't say. He just told me to find you, and to see what happens."

"Huh."

"Yeah, huh."

We stare deeply into each other's eyes. Her deep brown eyes look like they're bearing the weight of the world. As she looks into my soul, I know I have to come clean. She's done so with me, so I need to have some reciprocity.

"I'm not really sure how to say this…"

"I know what you mean! Just say it, Jasper. Get it out in the open. I did."

"I've been in love with you ever since I first saw you in the Forks High cafeteria. I stood by and watched you fall in love with Edward, then marry him, then go off to live your life of adventure with him. It was pure torture watching you marry him, to be honest. I had to be the Best Man, and all the while pretend that I wished you both well. You were my best friends, I couldn't do anything else, but it still hurt. That's why we lost contact with each other when you left for Africa. I was trying to rebuild my life without the two of you. I tried dating other women, but no one was ever you. How could I possibly replace you, Bella Swan?"

Her cheeks flushed, such a breathtaking shade of pink. She continued to look straight at me, trying to read if she had heard me correctly. When she finally spoke, it was in a hushed tone.

"You've been in love with me? All this time?"

"Yes, Bella, I truly have. You are the most naturally beautiful woman I've ever known, and you have a heart of gold on top of that. How could anyone ever replace you in my heart?"

She reaches out and holds my hands in hers.

"I didn't know, Jasper. I didn't know."

"That's because I didn't want you to know. You loved Edward. How could I possibly have tried to win you over? I didn't want to lose either of you, and I knew you could never love me. What else could I do but stand aside?"

She takes one of my hands in both of hers, lifting it to her lips to give it a gentle kiss. I shudder as her lips touch my skin.

"I'm sorry, Bella. My body always reacts whenever I have even the least amount of contact with you."

"I need to go," she says abruptly. "I have to think about this."

"Did I scare you away?"

"No, just give me some time. Please?"

"Of course I will. You have my number if you want to call me."

She grabs up her things haphazardly and makes a quick departure. Well, it would have been a quick departure had she not dropped her things during her hasty retreat. I smiled inwardly, thinking to myself that some things never change, apparently.

_Fuck, am I ever going to see her again? I didn't recognize how uniquely able she is to reopen my painful wounds._

****************

My phone rings, pulling me out of a deep slumber. I was sleeping so deeply, in fact, that it takes me a moment to clear the fog in my head and remember where I am.

_Who the hell would be calling at this hour? _ I think to myself. I glance at the clock, and it reads 12:15. A fucking M.

"Yeah?" I answer, groggily, expecting one of my patients to be on the other end.

"Jasper?" The voice says, trembling.

_Bella? WTF?_

"Bella?"

"Yes, it's me. I know it's late, but I really need to see you."

"Of course, any time. You know that. My door is always open for you."

I give her directions, and slip on a pair of jeans. I wait for her with anticipation. Her tiny knock on the door alerts me to her arrival. I rush over to meet her. She gives me an awkward smile, which I return. I notice that her eyes are red, and I walk her over to my couch.

"Can I get you anything?"

"Oh. Umm, do you have any wine?"

"I'll be back in just a minute. Please, just make yourself comfortable."

I rush back with two wine glasses and an open bottle. I pour her a glass, and notice that her hand is shaking as she takes it from me.

"Is everything okay? You seem really upset."

"I just had so much to process after our conversation, between my confession and yours. I felt very overwhelmed and confused. I have to apologize for leaving so abruptly. I needed some quiet time alone to think things through."

"That's understandable. And what are your conclusions?"

She takes a deep breath and exhales audibly before answering. "You already know Edward was the love of my life, Jasper. But that doesn't mean I never had feelings for you, too. You guys were just so different from one another, in every way, I felt like I had the best of both worlds being friends with the two of you. When you admitted to me that you had been in love with me, all those feelings I once had for you came flooding back to the surface. I think Edward knew that if I could find another love in this world, one he would have chosen for me if he could have, it would be you. I truly believe that's why he asked me to find you."

Now, it is my turn to be overwhelmed. Bella had been attracted to me? Edward knew this? And he wanted us to be together? That was a hell of a lot to swallow.

"I've honestly never loved anyone else Bella. You have to know that. However, I would never want you to be with me simply because Edward is gone and I am the second place winner. You have to want _me_, for who I am, right now. Are you telling me that is how you feel?"

"Jasper, I will always love Edward. But that doesn't mean I can't love you, too. The way you looked at me in the coffee shop this morning, when you shuddered as I touched you, it awakened me sexually. I saw the hunger in your eyes, and it made me hungry, too. And seeing you in front of me, shirtless, knowing that I just dragged you out of bed, God, it's driving me crazy!"

At the mention of the word hunger, I move to sit next to Bella, gathering her in my arms. Without wasting another moment, we dive into each other's lips with a passion akin to a starving man being led to a buffet table. I was fucking determined to try one of everything that was laid out on the buffet table, and Bella seemed to concur with me, silently. She helped lead our passion further down the path, running her hands all over my body.

She stops kissing me suddenly, looking me in the eye. "Will you take me to your bed, Jasper?"

With those Bambi eyes, how could I possibly say no, even if I had wanted to?

_And fuck me, I so did not want to._

"You don't even need to ask, baby. And I don't mind if you decide to stay there forever."

I scoop her up in my arms and whisk her off to my bedroom. She starts to lift up her shirt, but I grab her hands. She looks at me, startled and confused.

"If I get the pleasure of having you in my bed, I want to be the one to strip your clothes off of you. Slowly."

I hear a slight moan escape from her lips as I mention the word "slowly."

I slip my hands gently under her t-shirt, skimming along her sides as I take the hem with me. I pull it off over her head and fling it away. She's wearing a plain cotton bra. Her tits are nestled so beautifully, her cleavage is so perfect, and it's calling out to me. I plant a gentle kiss there as I unhook her bra and slide it off. Her nipples are right in front of my face, just begging to be kissed and licked. How could I disappoint those beauties and ignore them? I take a few moments to feel the weight of her breasts in my palms.

_Perfection._

Bella's nipples have distracted me momentarily from my task at hand, so I return to my previous focus. I lie her down on the bed, and tease my way across her stomach, down towards her jeans. I run my finger along the waist, tickling her, which causes her to wiggle her hips.

_Okay, stop with the teasing, or you're never going to accomplish your goal._

I pop open the button on her fly, and Bella switches from giggling to a loud gasp. I sloooowly work the zipper down, and I can tell it's driving her nuts.

_That's exactly where I want you to be, Bella. You're going to beg me to fuck you by the time we get there!_

I peel off her jeans, and see she has lace boy shorts underneath. The kind where the bottom of her ass peeks out. I take one look at them and groan.

"What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's the boy shorts. I fucking love boy shorts, you have no idea."

She does the hip wiggling thing again in response.

"Bella, you wiggle those hips one more fucking time, and I will lose it. It's like you're begging me to pound into you."

"Did I say I didn't want that? Sounds good to me."

"Oh, we'll get there. I just have other plans to torture you before I fuck you senseless."

I lightly rub my fingers over the crotch of her panties, savoring the wetness.

"These have to come off. _Now_."

"But _you're_ still dressed. That's hardly fair."

"Oh, that can be remedied quite easily." I stand up, pop open my button fly, and remove my jeans in mere seconds.

"Were you commando?"

"Well, you did awaken me from a deep sleep."

"You sleep naked?"

"Always."

"Jesus, Jasper, that is so fucking hot."

"Enough about me. Now the fun can begin."

I lean over her body, hovering just millimeters above the skin's surface. I breathe in her scent, and breathe out very deliberately. I pay close attention to the change in her breathing pattern when I get to certain spots on her body. The ones that make her breath hitch will be revisited later. The ones that receive a moan, or gasp, receive extra special attention. This is how I learn to read my lovers' bodies.

My goal is to get Bella's body to sing to me. To coax out the sounds of ecstasy that make up the chorus of love that we will share together. A song that is uniquely ours, one that can be played over and over, and improved upon over time.

As I breathe over her nipples, a gasp escapes from her mouth. Time spent over her navel causes her breath to become uneven and shaky. I ask her to part her legs, and breathe in her sweet, heavenly scent. I actually blow forcefully over her pussy, causing a moan coupled with a bucking of her hips.

_Oh, she's so fucking ready, and I haven't even touched her yet._

Undivided attention to her inner thighs results in a hitch of her breath. I straddle her, and lean over her neck. The collarbone is a gasp. Her ears, a moan. Her lips, the breath stops cold, then releases with such shakiness I wonder momentarily if she is all right.

"Jasper, please stop teasing me! I'm ready to burst and you haven't even laid a finger on me!"

"That's part of the plan…to drive you wild. I need to learn where your sensitive spots are, in order to give you the perfect pleasure."

She swallows hard with my admission.

I start over again, this time with her ears, licking and nibbling on them, and follow up with a hard gust of breath. _A gasp, with an arch of the back._

I barely touch my lips along the length of her neck, the follow with a slight lick of the tongue. _A shiver_.

I skim my nose along her collarbone. _A gasp_.

A circle of my tongue around her nipple. _A moan_.

A nibble of her nipple with my teeth. _A groan_.

A gust of breath to her pussy. _A scream._

A parting of her lips. _Jasper!_

Sliding my fore finger and middle finger into her wetness. _A buck._

I hook my fingers behind her pubic bone, searching for the magic spot. I know I've found it when she moans. My mouth decides to focus on her breasts, while my fingers coax out the music down south. I make a tapping motion with my fingertips over her G spot, alternating fingers so that it's almost like a pulse. I gradually work my fingers faster and faster, listening to the music Bella is creating just for me.

_Jasper!_

_Oh, fuck, fuck, God, Jasper, please_

_OH MY FUCKING GOD IN HEAVEN I'M CUMMING!!!_

That's exactly how I like the music to end.

I let Bella recover from her orgasm, and move up next to her, so we're looking into one another's faces. She is all flushed, a beautiful shade of red. As she recovers and her breathing returns to normal, she flashes me a wicked grin.

_What are you planning, vixen?_

She moves down my torso towards my aching cock. She wraps her hand around my shaft, giving it a few sturdy pumps.

"Jasper, your cock is so beautiful. If I wasn't so eager to hop on for a ride, I might want to just sit and look at it for a while."

My cock leaps in response, bringing out Bella's grin once more.

She wraps her mouth around me, slowly gliding up and down my length, stopping half way. She starts to move her tongue along my shaft, almost like she is milking it. It's the most intense, amazing thing I've ever felt, and it causes me to realize that Bella is an expert at fellatio.

_Thank you, Jesus, for delivering this sex goddess to my doorstep this evening!_

She stops abruptly, turning away from me, so I have an amazing, front row seat to ogle her ass. Before I can say a word, she grasps my cock, then slides me into her wet pussy. She moves at a glacial pace, so I can see my rod sliding in and out of her gorgeous pussy. She starts to add a flex of her hips every so often, and then begins to move more quickly, moaning and groaning about how fuckhot my dick is.

_How about that sweet pussy riding up and down on my disco stick? THAT is what's fuckhot in this equation._

I can't take the slow pace anymore, so I sit up and shift Bella to all fours. I grab her hips and start to ride her hard. That's when she really starts to scream.

_Fuck me hard, Jasper! Just pound on me! _

I see her reach down to her clit, and I know it's nearly over. I can't possibly watch that while pounding away at her pussy and last much longer. Being in Bella's tight, wet warmth is like being home for the first time. This is where I've always belonged. It feels so perfect and so right. I never want to leave. I want my cock to be buried deep in Bella for the rest of my life.

I feel her clench, and I'm done. My orgasm bursts forth with such force my entire body shakes. We collapse into a heap when we're done, panting, sweating, and jumbled together.

"Jasper, I have to tell you, those were the most intense orgasms I've ever had in my life. How did you know what to do? It's like you read a manual on how to please me."

"Your body told me what it needed, Bella. All I had to do was listen."

She gives me a chaste but sweet kiss, then whispers into my ear: "Do you feel like listening some more?"

I didn't need to answer her; my cock thumped against her thigh with its _firm_ approval.


End file.
